UN chief denounces Quetta bombing

KABUL (PAN): UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the bomb attack in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province that killed 84 people and wounded more than 150 others.

After Saturday night’s explosion on the Kirani Road in Quetta, which wounded around 200 people and was claimed by the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi group, the city has been crippled by two days of strikes and protests.

Ban urged the Pakistani authorities to act quickly against those responsible for the attack, which mostly killed the Shiite Hazara community members.

Martin Nesirky, the secretary-general’s spokesman, said in a statement Ban condemned the second attack against the community in Quetta in the last few weeks.

He called for swift and determined action against those claiming responsibility and perpetrating such actions. He reiterated the NU’s strong support for efforts by the government and people of Pakistan to protect religious and ethnic minorities and to combat the scourge of terrorism.